Amnesty International Categorizes Sleep Deprivation as Torture … My Child Tortures Me Every Night

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Cures For Sleep Apnea
Dated: 17 Dec 2009
Comments: 0

Sleep deprivation is acutely stressful and it can be deadly. It can disorientate; it can muddle your brain and cause you to become emotionally unstable; it can even kill you.

Yet millions of long suffering parents worldwide have a child who tortures them every night with a snoring racket that can rival the noise of a chainsaw in full swing.

But more importantly it’s not just you, the parents, who suffer sleepless nights when your child snores at this decibel level. For your child, their snoring can be an indication that they may be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (O.S.A.), a major health complication that can lead to a future lifetime of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and even early death.

Now O.S.A. is a real worry, so if you feel that this sounds all too familiar, for the sake of your child’s long term health, get it checked out. Admittedly, Sleep Apnea can disappear as your child matures, but it usually comes back to haunt them later in life.

Then you need do something to stop the racket. And the very first thing you need to do is make a careful examination of your child’s dietary and lifestyle habits. Now this actually applies to everyone who snores – child, teenager and adult, the common snorer or even someone with an upper respiratory tract abnormality.

Quite simply, ‘we are what we eat’. So to stop your child snoring, you need to ensure that they avoid all foods and drinks which can clog or irritate their sinuses, such as milk before bed, and all foods, drinks and medications (unless absolutely necessary) which cause a relaxation of the respiratory structures at the back of their throat when they are asleep, such as sedatives and cough syrups.

There are just so many foods which if avoided at night can help prevent your child’s nightly snoring racket – far too many to detail here - and so many simple lifestyle choices which you can introduce that have the power to stop your child’s snoring virtually overnight. Even minor lifestyle changes, such as raising the end of the bed up about four inches, can make all the difference.

Your child doesn’t have to look forward to a lifetime of snoring and potential ill health. You can do something about it and it’s far easier to do than you may think!

Dr Rick Donald is the author of Essential Stop Snoring Secrets. To find out more information about his book, visit http://www.stopmysnoringnow.com/stopsnoring.html

Pillows are not Just for Sleeping

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Cures For Sleep Apnea
Dated: 16 Dec 2009
Comments: 0

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor s book (Irish Proverb). However, getting to sleep is sometimes the problem. With all our pressures, problems and pains of everyday living, it is no wonder that millions suffer from sleep disorders. According to a national survey, 54% of adults said they have experienced insomnia at one time or another. Additionally, back pain, neck stiffness, muscle injuries and menopause can add to sleeplessness.

Today, pillows are not just something fluffy to place beneath our head at night. They are chiropractor approved, sleep doctor designed and specifically created to assist in pain relief, snoring cessation, spinal alignment, neck support, headache relief, joint strain pain, arthritis relief, sleep apnea and much more, while accommodating and stabilizing injuries and conditions. The basic sleeping pillow filled with foam or feathers is a thing of the past.

The fillings for pillows have also changed. Feathers and foam are still available, but new materials have been introduced such as buckwheat hulls, mustard seeds, memory foam and new types of fiber. Added to that are pillows filled with air and/or water and magnetic therapy pillows. These different surfaces provide different types and levels of support for the body and can, over time, heal and correct certain conditions such as degenerative discs, sleep apnea, snoring, insomnia, etc.

How often have you had to punch your pillow into a shape that supports your neck and is comfortable for sleeping? Most of us have had to do this at one time or another. Now, pillows are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. Listed below are a few specific pillows designed to aid sleep:

• Econo Wave Pillow: this pillow has a wavy surface to allow air to circulate while soothing and supporting the neck.

• Buckwheat Hull or Mustard Seed Pillows: these pillows can conform to any shape, come in a multitude of sizes, provide air circulation, help reduce stiff neck and insomnia and come in a variety of scents. Mustard seeds are also believed to relieve backache, joint pain, muscle aches, rheumatism or migraine headaches, while buckwheat hulls provide support and cooling of the head and neck and can help reduce stiff neck and insomnia.

• Air Core Adjustable Pillow: a cervical fiber pillow with a trapezoid shaped center that adjusts the level of support using an air pump and can reduce snoring by correcting blocked airways.

• AquaCore 3 in 1 Pillow: This pillow consists of fiber, resilient foam, plus and easy, fill to your level water cushion that addresses the cause of pain and restores proper neck curvature.

• Leg Spacer: This specialty pillow helps relieve pressure and strain on the lower back, knees and ankles and helps relax muscles while sleeping by placing the pillow between your knees.

• Headache Ice Pillo: This pillow uses medically recommended cold therapy in treating dull, moderate and severe tension or migraine headaches.

• Dreamzz Magnetic Sleeping Pillow: Get a great sleep and wake up refreshed while sleeping on this pillow that produces a calming therapeutic magnetic field that soothes away tension and stress while sleeping.

Pillows are also available for neck support, back support and headache relief:

• The Magnetic Lumbar Pillow is a half roll foam pillow that relieves pain due to muscle strains, sprains, sciatica and herniated discs by delivering a deep penetrating bio north magnetic field.

• The Jackson Roll is a versatile fiber filled support pillow that provides comfort and support for muscle and joint pain, as well as adding curvature to your spine. (I can personally attest that this works to help relieve the pain of degenerative discs.)

• The Soothe A Ciser foam pillow helps relieve headaches and neck pain.

These are just a few of the pillows offered on the market today, along with many others that address specific conditions or injuries. The response of the public to these specialty pillows has been tremendous and will grow in popularity as sleep conditions, sleep disorders and aches and pains multiply. Also, these pillows provide a noninvasive method of relieving and perhaps eliminating pain without medication or surgery.

http://www.spineshoppe.com

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: the Not-so-silent-assassin

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Sleep Apnea Breathing Machine
Dated: 24 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (or O.S.A. for short) is about as bad as it gets. People may joke about it, but O.S.A. is certainly no laughing matter because it can kill you. And according to the Mayo Clinic, up to 1 in 4 Americans suffer from this deadly health concern.

Now this is a really worrying statistic to say the least.

Unfortunately O.S.A. sufferers can be totally unaware of their condition until their sleeping partner or someone who sleeps within ear shot tells them. If this sounds like you, the only indicator that you may notice is feeling tired all the time during the day.

So what exactly is O.S.A.? It refers to a breathing complication where respiration totally stops during sleep for a period of 20 seconds or more. You can experience up to 300 of these apniac events each night. They severely reduce your body’s ability to oxygenate your blood, forcing your heart to pump harder than it should to maintain equilibrium.

Prolonged nightly apniac events can then cause an enlargement of your heart, with the probability of associated cardio-vascular disorders such as high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and irregular heart beat.

And what causes O.S.A.? It occurs when your tongue, uvula and/or soft palate collapse into the back of your throat when you sleep, blocking your airways so you can’t breath. As your airways narrow even further, you start to snore loudly, then your body violently gasps for air as breathing totally stops, and your nightly dice with death continues as the cycle repeats itself. No wonder O.S.A. sufferers wake feeling absolutely exhausted!

Most at risk are unfit, middle aged, overweight males who have a thick neck and pot belly. They often have a family history of the condition and may have a sluggish thyroid. Unfortunately, even if you don’t fit into this category you can still suffer from O.S.A., so if you have any concerns in this regard, check them out with your healthcare advisor.

Now the good news is that O.S.A. is a manageable condition. If you feel that you do suffer from this worrying health concern, have it checked out first to determine if you need to use a CPAP breathing machine, then look at your diet and lifestyle choices before you waste time and money on any other stop snoring treatments.

It’s important here to always remember that you are what you eat. Whilst it’s unlikely that dietary and lifestyle changes will totally cure your O.S.A., they certainly have the power to overcome some of the contributing factors that may be causing or worsening your Sleep Apnea so that its incidence and frequency reduces.

Dr Rick Donald is the author of ‘Essential Stop Snoring Secrets’. To find out more information about his book, visit http://www.stopmysnoringnow.com/stopsnoring.html

Find A Snoring Cure If You Have Sleep Apnea

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Cures For Sleep Apnea
Dated: 16 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

If you have a problem in your bedroom that sends your partner to sleep in the lounge, then you might want to take a look at the cause and try to find it. If you snore then you might have a condition called sleep Apnea and this can be quite annoying and actually cause more problems later on. It will prevent you from sleeping properly and you can develop other health problems. So, you should try to stop snoring with a snoring cure of some kind.

There are tons of remedy websites that offers great advice about snoring and how to stop. These can involve some herbal treatments and then you can also get the online stores that provide special snoring cures that have been manufactured by doctors.

When you suffer from this condition it can really affect your relationships. This is why you should do something about it while you can. The sleep Apnea is a condition that actually causes you to stop breathing for a second or two while you sleep. This cause you to snore and it can also be quite dangerous.

When you snore from this sleep Apnea you can easily stop when you cure the sleep apnea. Most of the time the blockage is caused in the central airway, but sometimes it can also be caused by the brain not functioning correctly.

To stop snoring you can use special patches and take pills, but as long as the apnea is still there you will probably continue to snore. The sleep Apnea is something not to be taken lightly and if you have been snoring then you might have it and not even realize. If you snore then you should go to see your doctor to be diagnosed.

With sleep Apnea there are many dangers including disability and death. When you have this condition you will rarely go into deep sleep which will make you very tired during the day. Those with sleep apnea start to snore because of the air trying to pass the blockage that has occurred in the airway.

Looking at the causes, sleep Apnea is common among overweight people due to the pressure being placed on the airway. Some people have this condition so badly that they have to wear a ventilation mask when they sleep to keep their airway open.

When you snore it means that your sleep Apnea might not be that bad yet, but you have to get it seen to before it gets worse. A bad case is caused when there is a complete blockage and you cannot breathe at all. The airway might be collapsed or blocked in the nasal cavity, throat, nose, or mouth. When this happens our bodies start to wake up and this disrupts our sleep patterns which in turn can also make the snoring worse. When you want to find a snoring cure you will have to first cure the sleep Apnea and this can mean that you might have to have surgery depending on how bad it is.

There is a Snoring Cure If You Have Sleep Apnea

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Cures For Sleep Apnea
Dated: 16 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

If you have a problem in your bedroom that sends your partner to sleep in the lounge, then you might want to take a look at the cause and try to find it. If you snore then you might have a condition called sleep Apnea and this can be quite annoying and actually cause more problems later on. It will prevent you from sleeping properly and you can develop other health problems. So, you should try to stop snoring with a snoring cure of some kind.
There are tons of remedy websites that offers great advice about snoring and how to stop. These can involve some herbal treatments and then you can also get the online stores that provide special snoring cures that have been manufactured by doctors.
When you suffer from this condition it can really affect your relationships. This is why you should do something about it while you can. The sleep Apnea is a condition that actually causes you to stop breathing for a second or two while you sleep. This cause you to snore and it can also be quite dangerous.
When you snore from this sleep Apnea you can easily stop when you cure the sleep apnea. Most of the time the blockage is caused in the central airway, but sometimes it can also be caused by the brain not functioning correctly.
To stop snoring you can use special patches and take pills, but as long as the apnea is still there you will probably continue to snore. The sleep Apnea is something not to be taken lightly and if you have been snoring then you might have it and not even realize. If you snore then you should go to see your doctor to be diagnosed.
With sleep Apnea there are many dangers including disability and death. When you have this condition you will rarely go into deep sleep which will make you very tired during the day. Those with sleep apnea start to snore because of the air trying to pass the blockage that has occurred in the airway.
Looking at the causes, sleep Apnea is common among overweight people due to the pressure being placed on the airway. Some people have this condition so badly that they have to wear a ventilation mask when they sleep to keep their airway open.
When you snore it means that your sleep Apnea might not be that bad yet, but you have to get it seen to before it gets worse. A bad case is caused when there is a complete blockage and you cannot breathe at all. The airway might be collapsed or blocked in the nasal cavity, throat, nose, or mouth. When this happens our bodies start to wake up and this disrupts our sleep patterns which in turn can also make the snoring worse. When you want to find a snoring cure you will have to first cure the sleep Apnea and this can mean that you might have to have surgery depending on how bad it is.

Do I Have Sleep Apnea?

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Sleep Apnea
Dated: 13 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

Sleep apnea can be very tricky to diagnose. If you sleep alone, or if you and your sleep partner are not aware of the symptoms of sleep apnea, you may not even realize you are waking (though just slightly) as many as hundreds of times per night, gasping for air and causing undue strain on your hard-working heart. The condition can go on undetected for some time until it becomes life-threatening.

For most individuals, their sleep partner is the first to notice something is not right. While snoring is a frequent nighttime occurrence, especially among overweight males, the gasping, choking and gurgling sounds that occur as your body is repeatedly deprived of oxygen can be disconcerting.

My husband had been disturbing his sleep and mine with his snoring for about a year. One night, I awoke to hear him stop breathing completely and, within a few seconds, he began snoring again. I thought it was odd, but soon went back to sleep and didn’t give it another thought. However, as the nights went on, I heard him stop breathing more often and for longer periods of time. I would try to wake him up, but most times he rolled into a different position, stopped snoring for a few minutes, and then started up all over again. In the morning, he rarely remembered me waking him up over and over. But he was very fatigued during the day, began to gain weight, felt generally unwell, and lost his usual charm and zest for life.

One day, I read about sleep apnea, and I knew that was the problem immediately. After an evaluation at a sleep clinic, my husband was fitted with a CPAP machine. It was dreadful to sleep with and he soon abandoned it. A few months later, during a routine physical, our family doctor noticed he had a smaller than normal airway and sent him to a specialist. That visited resulted in a surgery called ‘Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty’ (UPPP) and, for my husband, it was a lifesaver.

Some sleep apnea signs and symptoms include:

• Stopping breathing frequently during sleep.

• Choking or gasping for air while sleeping

• Unusually loud snoring

• Frequent wakening to gasp for air

• Night sweats

• Daytime fatigue

• Morning dry mouth, headaches and sore throat

It’s important to know that snoring is not the same as sleep apnea. Snoring is a loud vibration from the throat that is not necessarily harmful. Individuals with sleep apnea, however, are deprived of oxygen, and suffer major health issues. If you find it confusing, just remember that if you have sleep apnea you will snore, but if you do snore, it does not necessarily mean you are suffering from sleep apnea.

How I Cured My Obstructive Sleep Apnea in 30 Days With 6 Simple Exercises

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Sleep Apnea
Dated: 13 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

My Sleep Apnea Cure®How I permanently cured my Obstructive Sleep Apnea in 30 days without drugs, surgery, machines, pillows or appliances.If you’re reading this, you or someone you love is one of the estimated 18 million Americans who suffer from some form of sleep apnea, like I  did . The following is how I permanently cured my Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in 30 days without the use of drugs, surgery, machines,  pillows or appliances.In January of 2001, on my regular annual visit to my family doctor, I mentioned my noticeable decrease in energy throughout the day. My doctor said, “Maybe you have sleep apnea.” I replied, “What’s sleep apnea?” He explained that sometimes people stop breathing while they sleep because of various obstructions in their throat and air passageways. The impediment in breathing results in a lack of oxygen, which leads to the body secreting adrenalin into the blood stream, which then leads to gasping for breath and an interruption in restful sleep. He explained that sleep apnea sufferers don’t fully wake up; the gasping for breath occurs just above the level of REM restful sleep but below the conscious level. Later at the University of California at San Diego  Medical  Center  I was tested for obstructive sleep apnea and told that I stopped breathing an average of 44 times per hour as I slept. No wonder I was tired all the time. I hadn’t slept soundly in years.Next came the really bad news. I was told nothing could be done to cure my OSA. There was no medication or surgical procedure that could guarantee a cure. I was prescribed a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, (CPAP), a medieval-looking, computerized air compressor and mask contraption and was told I had to wear it every night from then on, in essence, for the rest of my  life.  I   tried  sleeping  with  the  CPAP mask and compressor but I couldn’t because of the uncomfortable mask and the noise of the compressor.While continuing to suffer for years from sleep apnea I began experimenting with various exercises of my jaw and neck muscles, thinking that lack of muscle strength and tone could be the cause of my OSA. After a period of trial and error, I created six simple-to-do isometric exercises that strengthened specific muscles in my neck and jaw and believe it or not, I cured my sleep apnea! The six exercises took less than ten minutes total to do. I did them twice a day: when I woke up in the morning and before I retired in the evening. It took me less than 30 days of doing the exercises to completely cure my OSA. One of the first things I noticed was I was dreaming more. More REM sleep equals more dreams. Second, I was rested after six or seven hours of sleep, whereas before the exercises, I could barely get out of bed in the morning no matter how long I slept and I never felt rested.I did the six exercises very slowly; I didn’t rush them. My idea was to strengthen and increase the tone of the jaw and neck muscles used during each exercise. Each repetition took at least five seconds to accomplish. An easy way to estimate five seconds is to count: one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi. Each Mississippi is equal to one second. The slower I did the exercises, the better my results. I rested for five to ten seconds between each repetition. I did each exercise for a total of five repetitions to begin with, working up to a maximum of ten repetitions for each exercise. The full six exercises took me about ten minutes to do. You can do the exercises while sitting, standing or lying down. They are isometric and non-aerobic.The six exercises cured my Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I have continued doing the exercises, just to ensure my cure is permanent. I feel sure my OSA was caused by my weakened jaw and throat muscles. If you have OSA like I did, these exercises are your permanent cure. They definitely were mine. You can learn more about my exercises at www.mysleepapneacure.com

Types of Sleep Apnea

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Sleep Apnea
Dated: 12 Nov 2009
Comments: 0

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by a reduction or cessation of breathing and air flow during sleep. It is common among adults but very rare in children. An apnea is a period of time during which breathing stops or is significantly reduced. Simply put, an apnea occurs when a person stops breathing for ten seconds or more. Apneas usually occur during sleep. When an apnea occurs, sleep is disrupted. Sometimes this means the person wakes up completely, but sometimes this can mean the person comes out of a deep level of sleep. Apneas are usually measured during sleep over a two-hour period.

Three Types of Sleep Apnea

The three types of sleep apneas are central sleep apnea (CSA), obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and mixed sleep apnea (a combination of the two).

During sleep, the brain instructs the muscles of breathing to take a breath. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not send the signal to the muscle to take a breath, and there is no muscular effort to take a breath. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the brain sends the signal to the muscles and the muscles make an effort to take a breath but are unsuccessful because the airway becomes obstructed and prevents the flow of air. The third type of sleep apnea, mixed sleep apnea, occurs when there is both central and obstructive sleep apnea.

CSA and its Causes

CSA occurs when the brain does not send the signal to the muscles of breathing. This type of apnea usually occurs in infants or adults with heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, or congenital diseases, but CSA can also be caused by some medications and high altitudes.

CSA, when occurring in premature infants, is defined as apnea lasting more than 20 seconds, usually with a change in heart rate, a reduction in blood oxygen, or hypotonia (a general relaxation of the body’s muscles). CSA is not the same thing as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

OSA

People with obstructive sleep apnea have an airway that is more narrow than normal, usually at the base of the tongue and palate. When lying flat, the palate is above the air passage. When the pharyngeal muscles relax, the palate can fall backwards obstructing the airway. Patients with OSA often do not report waking up during the night.OSA can cause the following medical problems (just to name a few):

· High blood pressure

· Heart problems

· Weight gain

· Constant tiredness

· Diabetes

· Slow metabolism

· Memory/concentration problems

· Depression

· Anxiety

· Sore throat

· Dry mouth

Stop Snoring Cures

Posted by Apnea
Categorized Under: Snoring
Dated: 23 Oct 2008
Comments: 0

Snoring is a very common problem, especially in adult men.  Snoring is the blockage of airflow when you are sleeping, and the loud sound of snoring is nothing more than the palate and the throat rubbing against one another in an effort to gain air.  Snoring is a relatively harmless problem, but it is a problem none the less.

There are a few simple steps that can be taken in order to cure snoring without having to head to the doctor’s office.  In some cases these steps may not be successful as your snoring problem could be the result of a more serious problem such as enlarged adenoids or tonsils, in which case you should consult a doctor.  Check out some of these preventative measures that are explained below.

1.    Sleeping on your back:  Sleeping on your back can be a big cause of snoring.  In this case you will want to make an effort to move your sleep position to sleeping on your side.  Although it is hard to control exactly how you sleep, there is a trick that will greatly help you to sleep on your side.  If you will take a tennis ball and put it in a sock and then put it in the back of your pants (around the small of your back) you will roll over on your back only to quickly roll back onto your side.

2.    Keeping a close watch on the substances that you intake: Things like smoking and drinking in excess can definitely lead to snoring.  It is recommended that you do not drink at least four hours before going to sleep as alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and constricts the air flow.  Also, antihistamines and sleeping pills will have the same affect as alcohol thus making it hard for airflow.

3.    Watch your weight: If you are overweight or are in the beginning stages of gaining some extra pounds, make an effort to shed those pounds.  When you gain weight or are already obese, fat will store up around your neck and will cause the throat to become constricted.  This constriction will greatly reduce the amount of air that you take in, thus causing you to snore.  If you are overweight make an effort to lose weight by exercising on a daily basis and by eating a healthy and balanced diet.  By taking this step you will greatly increase the chances to cure snoring.

4.    Try over the counter remedies: There are many medicine and herbal remedies that can be used to help in snoring.  There are different medicines, creams, and even devices like nasal strips that will cure snoring in a major way.  Before purchasing any of these herbal or synthetic remedies be smart and read up about them.  Check online and print consumer articles that help in determining which remedy is right for you.  Know that all humans are designed differently so you may have to try a few out before finding one that works for you.

Although snoring is a common problem, it is a problem that should not be taken with a grain of salt.  Often times snoring can be a product of sleep apnea.  Sleep apnea is when you stop breathing for short periods of time when you are sleeping (usually around 10 to 12 seconds).  If these suggestions seem not to work for you, it is a good idea to consult with your doctor to make sure that you do not suffer from sleep apnea.  Take these preventative steps and sleep better by using these cures for snoring.